Special Agent Steven Willis was one of four federal agents killed when they raided the compound of a religious cult for weapons violations.

Four agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms were shot and killed in a raid on the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas. The Branch Davidians were a religious cult that idolized their leader, David Koresh. A two-month standoff followed the initial raid and ended when the Branch Davidians conducted a mass murder-suicide, by gunfire and fire, which resulted in the deaths of over 80 of its members.

The raid was the catalyst for the terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995 - exactly two years after the mass suicide. The terrorist bombing claimed the lives of 168 people, including eight federal law enforcement agents.